The Nag's Head, Shrewsbury

Situated on the attractive Wyle Cop, just up the hill from the English Bridge, the Nag’s Head is a small, traditional two room pub. The compact front bar has wooden flooring and upon entering, the servery is directly opposite in a corner position. Bench and low stool seating runs around the perimeter under bare brick and whitewashed walls which have been covered in old photos , various bits of brewerania and several pictures of nag’s heads. In addition to this, a carved horse’s head can be found mounted on one side of the bar. A passageway of sorts, lined with mirrors, leads into a similarly sized rear room with an L shaped padded bench and more low stools around tables that are crammed into every available space. There are some old enamel adverts and a collection of bottles on display, plus a juke box which was playing tunes at a sensible level on my Saturday early evening visit. Meanwhile, TV screens in each room were showing muted Sky Sports News. A door at the rear leads out to a surprisingly large garden with plenty of picnic benches for the summer months. Four ales were available at the bar – Deuchars IPA, Wells Bombardier, Hobson’s Up n Down and Ludlow Stairway. The latter, which set me back a reasonable £3.00, was in fairly good shape and served by a pleasant barmaid. A board listed a range of ales, only one of which was actually available, which may hint at an ale rotation policy or perhaps more likely, was just out of date. I expected to find an older clientele in this place, but there were customers of all ages which must say something for its appeal. It doesn’t quite match up to some of the town’s top ale houses but it is well worth a look if you like traditional pubs in nice historic old buildings.

The pub hasn't changed much in the last 4 years but the beer range has improved with Hobsons Bitter and Three Tuns XXX available on this visit alongside Deuchars & Landlord. The Three Tuns was a good pint as well, as it should be as this pub is in the CAMRA GBG2013. The pub cat was wandering around as well, but we weren't good enough for her. :-)) 05/12/2008 Nice little pub surrounded by other historic buildings on Wyle Cop. The beer range wasn't too inventive when I visited, mainly the Greene King range. I had a pint of the guest beer Black Sheep Bitter, which was very good. Well worth a visit though.

Standing half way up Shrewsbury’s attractive and historic Wyle Cop - on the former London to Holyhead busy coaching route - which climbs up to the centre of town, is The Nags Head. The first thing we notice is the overhanging upper storey jutting out slightly from the two lower floors. It’s a traditionally furnished interior with subdued lighting and something of a slightly worn and lived in feel. The walls are decorated with a series of reproduction enamel signs – eg His Masters Voice – and photos of old Shrewsbury. A door at the back leads out to, what by town centre standards, is a very large grassy garden with the usual picnic tables. Here we see an unusual timber framed remnant of an old 14th Century building – best appreciated from the far end of the garden – which now acts as a smokers shelter. 4 real ales were on when I visited one recent mid-September evening – TT Landlord, Three Tuns XXX, a beer from Hobsons and an increasingly rare sighting of Deuchars IPA. The deuchars IPA wasn’t particularly good at all, but the pub is a CAMRA Good Beer Guide regular. I didn’t particularly warm to this place when I last visited Shrewsbury in 2009 and, after this more recent visit, it’s still not one of my favourites

well worth a few pints in this pub, friendly staff , good choice of beer, i (elvis) as am known as i always put elvis songs on the juke box often like to pop in here.

Pub is as described in previous reviews , the upstairs room(the one jutting out over the street)is reputed to be haunted , several people have commited suicide over the centuries due to an ancient painting on the door of the room . The service and locals were friendly and the beer decent , a couple of locals , Salopian Gold , Three Tuns XXX and a few nationals Brakspear Oxford , TT Landlord , Deuchars , its a decent no frills pub this

Near the river by English Bridge it appears a very traditional no frills pub but there are a couple of clues that it isn’t quite so simple. The large clear windows, exposed brickwork and the arty photos for example, on the other hand the Britannia tables (including one cut in half), bare boards and bench seats along with old photos and prints are very traditional. The front room has the counter and supports 5 pulls with a mix of nationally recognisable brands, Taylors, Deuchars plus two more local beers from Hobsons. There is also a low T Bar with well known lagers, a cider and a smooth. The beer is pretty good, the pub is a GBG entry and the service is friendly. The back room is in similar vein with enamel advertising posters, a fruit machine, a juke box and a ciggy machine. The pub advertises “fine dining” that is a pork pie with pickled onions and mustard for £2.50, it also has a slight Laural & Hardy fetish.